design your dream garden - Garden Gate Magazine
design your dream garden: part 2 — define the shapes It’s time to give your design some shape.
Set the Style
D
o you dream of having a beautiful new garden? Like building a house, creating the garden of your dreams takes planning. We started with a site analysis in “Start from Scratch.” Check out “The story up ’til now” below for a recap. Now it’s time to start de-fining the shapes of the beds and other key elements. Take a cue from the house Garden style ties the shapes of borders, structures and all the other elements together. The biggest structure in your garden
The story up ‘til now In “Start from Scratch” I showed how to make a site analysis. First, you evaluate the permanent elements in your garden, such as the house, the driveway and existing trees. That information becomes a base map — a scale drawing you can use as you plan. Next, make a list of things Getaway Veggie Shrubs and flowers garden you would like in your Existing new garden. Then Lawn tree take those elements Patio Family and organize them Kitchen room on the base map. This Garage Front door is the base map we settled on and are Existing tree working from now.
will most likely be the house, so that’s where to start. Many houses are a mix of styles, giving you lots of latitude when it comes to garden design. But if your house is well-defined, perhaps an English Tudor or a Colonial saltbox, you’ll want to keep the garden a similar style. A dramatic contrast, such as putting a Southwestern xeric landscape with that Tudor, may look out of place. However, choosing a style simply comes down to deciding what you like and what looks good. Keep your options open It’s time to take several copies of the base map you’ve made and draw in the elements you chose. Before you sketch, ask yourself the “Questions of style,” on page 2 to help you set the look of your new garden. Do more than one sketch so you can see how different shapes will fit together. Even though you have several base maps, be sure to keep an eraser handy — you’ll probably use it frequently! You can see six options for the yard I’m planning on page 2. I started with three sketches that have curved forms. Then I did three with straight edges. With each sketch you can see what I like and some of the problems.
1
When I sketched ideas, I started with the patio area because it’s the largest element in the yard. Then I moved to the border around the back yard, fitting in the focal-point vegetable garden and the hideaway area in the far left corner. Next, I looked at the path along the side of the house. Since it’ll be used a lot, I want to make sure it looks good and is easy to navigate. And I sketched ideas for the front area last. Keep practical considerations in mind as you start. For example, the new patio needs to connect the kitchen and living areas. I don’t want to carry food through the house or navigate a narrow zigzag path, especially if I have my hands full on the way to the patio table. Don’t worry about perfect lines, or even exact measurements at this point; just draw in shapes and rough sizes to see how they look. Once you have several sketches put together, take them outside and walk through the garden. If it helps, drag out the hose or some twine and stakes to outline areas to picture your ideas better. On the next pages I’ve refined the ideas you see here to come up with two designs — one with curves and one with straight lines. Let’s take a look at the process.
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Experiment with lines and shapes Designing on the curve Hideaway Hideaway
A long curving path adds to the mystery of the getaway spot.
Veggies Lawn
Sharp curves look interesting on paper.
Patio
Garage
Front door
Stepping stone path is easy to install.
Lawn
Garage
Privacy fence screens the back yard and patio. Veggies
Patio
Family room
Kitchen
Looks good on paper but the odd shape could be tough to install.
Front door
Questions of style
Lawn
Garage
Family room
Front door
Dramatic curves
gentle flow Broad
Classic circles A
These curves give the garden a natural feel. And traveling the long path through the border to the hideaway will give the impression of a journey away from the house.
curves are easy to maneuver with the mower. I really like the curves where I want to expand the existing front sidewalk, too. They’ll make the area look and feel much more welcoming to visitors.
circular lawn gives lots of open space around the beds. The stepping stone path from the patio would be easy to install, but may not be as easy to navigate as a solid surface. The round vegetable garden is intriguing — is it practical?
Straightforward lines Setting the vegetable garden into the border makes it less noticeable. Space for plants, but it’s too narrow to grow much.
Unique garden shape makes a good focal point viewed from the house and patio.
Patio shape follows lines of the house.
Hideaway
Simple solution to widen the sidewalk, but just looks boring.
Nice amount of space for a lawn.
Veggies
Kitchen
Generous planting areas in the front yard.
This lawn is smaller so there’s more room for shrubs and flowers.
Hideaway
Patio
Family room
Kitchen
Lots of space for more flowers in front of the veggie garden.
Straight edges are easy to keep neat and tidy.
Hideaway
Hideaway
Veggies
Veggies Lawn
Lawn
Patio Patio Kitchen Garage
Family room
Front door
Kitchen
Folks often cut these corners, so follow the natural traffic patterns.
Garage
Family room
Front door
This could be a planting area or left open.
Veggies Lawn Patio Kitchen Garage
Interesting lawn shape, but might need extra trimming by hand.
Family room
Front door
Simple lines The veggie
Dramatic diagonal
A Traditional look
garden is a good fit and has room in front to add a border of flowers or low shrubs. This plan would be quick to lay out, build and plant, especially for a do-it-yourself project.
Turning things on a diagonal adds excitement. The diagonals make for a unique vegetable garden and front sidewalk. And the simple lines of this patio would be easy to live with.
An open space gives the patio the feeling of two separate areas. The veggie garden is a traditional shape. There’s lots of planting space in the borders, and the edges are easy to maintain.
Does your house have a definite style, such as Victorian or Georgian? Do you prefer straight lines, geometric forms and well-defined corners, or natural, gently curving lines with no sharp angles? When you visit other gardens, do you like symmetrical balance where two or more elements match exactly, like a mirror image? Or is asymmetrical balance, where items in the garden relate to each other but are not identical, more appealing to you? Are you drawn to gardens where the style is loose and natural, with masses of plants and very few hard surfaces? Do you like to see individual, well-spaced specimen plants? When you think about structures in your garden, are they painted and ornate or left to weather naturally? Do you mow with a riding mower or a walk behind? Tight curves and angles may mean you need to go back and trim by hand.
N
Scale: 1 square = 25 square ft.
2
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
design your dream garden: part 2 — define the shapes (continued) Veggie garden
Planting areas
Hideaway spot
O
nce I’ve made sketches, I usually find that I like elements from several of them. So I’ll work them into my final designs. That’s just what I’ve done here. I’ve adjusted the shapes and sizes to create two designs — one with curving lines here and one with mostly straight lines and sharp angles on page 4. For now, both of them are contenders. But in our next installment I’ll choose one and complete the plan, selecting hardscaping and plants. I’ll also include a detailed plan of the hideaway area. It’ll be helpful whether you’re starting from scratch or updating your existing yard. ® — Jim Childs
Tucking tool storage, compost and potting bench behind this fence keeps them hidden from the street. But they’re still convenient to use.
Curved lines I liked the circles you saw on one of my Lawn early sketches, so I found a way to Privacy fence integrate a couple of them into my final plan. The round vegetable Patio garden will be a good focal point Family when viewed from the house room Kitchen Gate and patio. I’ll plant it in wedges separated by paths and put a raised Garage Front door Shrubs bed of flowers in the center. Round and may not be a practical shape for a flowers large vegetable garden, but for this 20-ft.-diameter spot it would be fine. This patio design lets traffic move across the back of the house New hardscape area efficiently, too. And there’s lots of N space for plantings in the borders Scale: 1 square = around the back yard. There’s even enough depth to the bed in 25 square ft. the upper left hand corner to make the hideaway feel really secluded. In the front garden, flowing curves widen the sidewalk and add a welcoming look. Plus, all of these gently curving edges, in the front and back garden, will be easy to mow without going back to trim. Front yard view
The generous size of the patio ties the kitchen and family room areas together.
Setting the gate back helps the front yard look bigger.
This circular hideaway is 10 ft. in diameter, a good size for two chairs and a small table.
N
Lots of colorful flowers makes the front garden look inviting.
No fence or plantings here, just let the lawn blend into the neighbor’s lawn. It’ll make the front yard seem bigger and make the neighborhood look friendlier.
Back yard view
This ornamental tree casts some shade on the southwest corner of the patio, blocks the view of the neighbor’s trash cans and provides privacy for the patio from the second story of the house next door.
Keep this south side of the yard open with no privacy fence or large hedge. This offers an unobstructed view of the open space beyond from the house and patio.
3
N A formal veggie garden? Divide the beds with paths for easy access into each section.
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Planting areas
Veggie garden
Hideaway spot
Straight lines The generous sizes of the borders in this layout are perfect for plenty of shrubs and flowers. And see the large patio across the back of the house? Not only will it offer lots of space for entertaining, but it’s efficient. Notice how it connects both doors on the back of the house? That means serving a meal will be easy. Plus, the patio ties into the path that leads around the house to the front yard so guests won’t have to go through the house to get to the back yard. Adding just a small bit of hard surface around the existing sidewalk is an easy way to give your entry a unique look and distinguish it from similar homes on the street. Plus, it’s less expensive than taking out all of the concrete. Not only is the look unique, the wider sidewalk helps make the front yard feel more spacious and welcoming, too. These hard surface areas in the angles of the sidewalk give visitors more areas where they can stand and chat. And they provide spots for a few containers to change the look of the entrance without a lot of work.
Lawn
Privacy fence
Patio Kitchen Gate
Garage
Family room
Shrubs and flowers
Front door
New hardscape area
N
A wide path means easy access when working in this utility area.
Scale: 1 square = 25 square ft.
Front yard view
Straight lines and simple plantings add a formal look to this small house. Plus with all the gardens in the back yard, here is an opportunity to keep maintenance easier. One continuous surface makes it easy to roll a wheelbarrow or other equipment from the utility area.
N
Medium-sized shrubs and lots of perennials soften the view into the hideaway but won’t block air circulation.
There’s plenty of room to dress up this landing with one (or several) colorful, flower-filled containers.
Back yard view
It won’t take much time to mow both the front and back lawns, but there’s still room to play games or let pets run.
N
Leave the south side of the yard unfenced and without a large hedge so folks on the deck or patio can easily see the nice view beyond the yard.
A fence around the garden will protect the vegetables from critters. But adding two gates means easy access for working.
4
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Set the Style
D
o you dream of having a beautiful new garden? Like building a house, creating the garden of your dreams takes planning. We started with a site analysis in “Start from Scratch.” Check out “The story up ’til now” below for a recap. Now it’s time to start de-fining the shapes of the beds and other key elements. Take a cue from the house Garden style ties the shapes of borders, structures and all the other elements together. The biggest structure in your garden
The story up ‘til now In “Start from Scratch” I showed how to make a site analysis. First, you evaluate the permanent elements in your garden, such as the house, the driveway and existing trees. That information becomes a base map — a scale drawing you can use as you plan. Next, make a list of things Getaway Veggie Shrubs and flowers garden you would like in your Existing new garden. Then Lawn tree take those elements Patio Family and organize them Kitchen room on the base map. This Garage Front door is the base map we settled on and are Existing tree working from now.
will most likely be the house, so that’s where to start. Many houses are a mix of styles, giving you lots of latitude when it comes to garden design. But if your house is well-defined, perhaps an English Tudor or a Colonial saltbox, you’ll want to keep the garden a similar style. A dramatic contrast, such as putting a Southwestern xeric landscape with that Tudor, may look out of place. However, choosing a style simply comes down to deciding what you like and what looks good. Keep your options open It’s time to take several copies of the base map you’ve made and draw in the elements you chose. Before you sketch, ask yourself the “Questions of style,” on page 2 to help you set the look of your new garden. Do more than one sketch so you can see how different shapes will fit together. Even though you have several base maps, be sure to keep an eraser handy — you’ll probably use it frequently! You can see six options for the yard I’m planning on page 2. I started with three sketches that have curved forms. Then I did three with straight edges. With each sketch you can see what I like and some of the problems.
1
When I sketched ideas, I started with the patio area because it’s the largest element in the yard. Then I moved to the border around the back yard, fitting in the focal-point vegetable garden and the hideaway area in the far left corner. Next, I looked at the path along the side of the house. Since it’ll be used a lot, I want to make sure it looks good and is easy to navigate. And I sketched ideas for the front area last. Keep practical considerations in mind as you start. For example, the new patio needs to connect the kitchen and living areas. I don’t want to carry food through the house or navigate a narrow zigzag path, especially if I have my hands full on the way to the patio table. Don’t worry about perfect lines, or even exact measurements at this point; just draw in shapes and rough sizes to see how they look. Once you have several sketches put together, take them outside and walk through the garden. If it helps, drag out the hose or some twine and stakes to outline areas to picture your ideas better. On the next pages I’ve refined the ideas you see here to come up with two designs — one with curves and one with straight lines. Let’s take a look at the process.
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Experiment with lines and shapes Designing on the curve Hideaway Hideaway
A long curving path adds to the mystery of the getaway spot.
Veggies Lawn
Sharp curves look interesting on paper.
Patio
Garage
Front door
Stepping stone path is easy to install.
Lawn
Garage
Privacy fence screens the back yard and patio. Veggies
Patio
Family room
Kitchen
Looks good on paper but the odd shape could be tough to install.
Front door
Questions of style
Lawn
Garage
Family room
Front door
Dramatic curves
gentle flow Broad
Classic circles A
These curves give the garden a natural feel. And traveling the long path through the border to the hideaway will give the impression of a journey away from the house.
curves are easy to maneuver with the mower. I really like the curves where I want to expand the existing front sidewalk, too. They’ll make the area look and feel much more welcoming to visitors.
circular lawn gives lots of open space around the beds. The stepping stone path from the patio would be easy to install, but may not be as easy to navigate as a solid surface. The round vegetable garden is intriguing — is it practical?
Straightforward lines Setting the vegetable garden into the border makes it less noticeable. Space for plants, but it’s too narrow to grow much.
Unique garden shape makes a good focal point viewed from the house and patio.
Patio shape follows lines of the house.
Hideaway
Simple solution to widen the sidewalk, but just looks boring.
Nice amount of space for a lawn.
Veggies
Kitchen
Generous planting areas in the front yard.
This lawn is smaller so there’s more room for shrubs and flowers.
Hideaway
Patio
Family room
Kitchen
Lots of space for more flowers in front of the veggie garden.
Straight edges are easy to keep neat and tidy.
Hideaway
Hideaway
Veggies
Veggies Lawn
Lawn
Patio Patio Kitchen Garage
Family room
Front door
Kitchen
Folks often cut these corners, so follow the natural traffic patterns.
Garage
Family room
Front door
This could be a planting area or left open.
Veggies Lawn Patio Kitchen Garage
Interesting lawn shape, but might need extra trimming by hand.
Family room
Front door
Simple lines The veggie
Dramatic diagonal
A Traditional look
garden is a good fit and has room in front to add a border of flowers or low shrubs. This plan would be quick to lay out, build and plant, especially for a do-it-yourself project.
Turning things on a diagonal adds excitement. The diagonals make for a unique vegetable garden and front sidewalk. And the simple lines of this patio would be easy to live with.
An open space gives the patio the feeling of two separate areas. The veggie garden is a traditional shape. There’s lots of planting space in the borders, and the edges are easy to maintain.
Does your house have a definite style, such as Victorian or Georgian? Do you prefer straight lines, geometric forms and well-defined corners, or natural, gently curving lines with no sharp angles? When you visit other gardens, do you like symmetrical balance where two or more elements match exactly, like a mirror image? Or is asymmetrical balance, where items in the garden relate to each other but are not identical, more appealing to you? Are you drawn to gardens where the style is loose and natural, with masses of plants and very few hard surfaces? Do you like to see individual, well-spaced specimen plants? When you think about structures in your garden, are they painted and ornate or left to weather naturally? Do you mow with a riding mower or a walk behind? Tight curves and angles may mean you need to go back and trim by hand.
N
Scale: 1 square = 25 square ft.
2
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
design your dream garden: part 2 — define the shapes (continued) Veggie garden
Planting areas
Hideaway spot
O
nce I’ve made sketches, I usually find that I like elements from several of them. So I’ll work them into my final designs. That’s just what I’ve done here. I’ve adjusted the shapes and sizes to create two designs — one with curving lines here and one with mostly straight lines and sharp angles on page 4. For now, both of them are contenders. But in our next installment I’ll choose one and complete the plan, selecting hardscaping and plants. I’ll also include a detailed plan of the hideaway area. It’ll be helpful whether you’re starting from scratch or updating your existing yard. ® — Jim Childs
Tucking tool storage, compost and potting bench behind this fence keeps them hidden from the street. But they’re still convenient to use.
Curved lines I liked the circles you saw on one of my Lawn early sketches, so I found a way to Privacy fence integrate a couple of them into my final plan. The round vegetable Patio garden will be a good focal point Family when viewed from the house room Kitchen Gate and patio. I’ll plant it in wedges separated by paths and put a raised Garage Front door Shrubs bed of flowers in the center. Round and may not be a practical shape for a flowers large vegetable garden, but for this 20-ft.-diameter spot it would be fine. This patio design lets traffic move across the back of the house New hardscape area efficiently, too. And there’s lots of N space for plantings in the borders Scale: 1 square = around the back yard. There’s even enough depth to the bed in 25 square ft. the upper left hand corner to make the hideaway feel really secluded. In the front garden, flowing curves widen the sidewalk and add a welcoming look. Plus, all of these gently curving edges, in the front and back garden, will be easy to mow without going back to trim. Front yard view
The generous size of the patio ties the kitchen and family room areas together.
Setting the gate back helps the front yard look bigger.
This circular hideaway is 10 ft. in diameter, a good size for two chairs and a small table.
N
Lots of colorful flowers makes the front garden look inviting.
No fence or plantings here, just let the lawn blend into the neighbor’s lawn. It’ll make the front yard seem bigger and make the neighborhood look friendlier.
Back yard view
This ornamental tree casts some shade on the southwest corner of the patio, blocks the view of the neighbor’s trash cans and provides privacy for the patio from the second story of the house next door.
Keep this south side of the yard open with no privacy fence or large hedge. This offers an unobstructed view of the open space beyond from the house and patio.
3
N A formal veggie garden? Divide the beds with paths for easy access into each section.
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Planting areas
Veggie garden
Hideaway spot
Straight lines The generous sizes of the borders in this layout are perfect for plenty of shrubs and flowers. And see the large patio across the back of the house? Not only will it offer lots of space for entertaining, but it’s efficient. Notice how it connects both doors on the back of the house? That means serving a meal will be easy. Plus, the patio ties into the path that leads around the house to the front yard so guests won’t have to go through the house to get to the back yard. Adding just a small bit of hard surface around the existing sidewalk is an easy way to give your entry a unique look and distinguish it from similar homes on the street. Plus, it’s less expensive than taking out all of the concrete. Not only is the look unique, the wider sidewalk helps make the front yard feel more spacious and welcoming, too. These hard surface areas in the angles of the sidewalk give visitors more areas where they can stand and chat. And they provide spots for a few containers to change the look of the entrance without a lot of work.
Lawn
Privacy fence
Patio Kitchen Gate
Garage
Family room
Shrubs and flowers
Front door
New hardscape area
N
A wide path means easy access when working in this utility area.
Scale: 1 square = 25 square ft.
Front yard view
Straight lines and simple plantings add a formal look to this small house. Plus with all the gardens in the back yard, here is an opportunity to keep maintenance easier. One continuous surface makes it easy to roll a wheelbarrow or other equipment from the utility area.
N
Medium-sized shrubs and lots of perennials soften the view into the hideaway but won’t block air circulation.
There’s plenty of room to dress up this landing with one (or several) colorful, flower-filled containers.
Back yard view
It won’t take much time to mow both the front and back lawns, but there’s still room to play games or let pets run.
N
Leave the south side of the yard unfenced and without a large hedge so folks on the deck or patio can easily see the nice view beyond the yard.
A fence around the garden will protect the vegetables from critters. But adding two gates means easy access for working.
4
© August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
